House Bill 3699
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
By Representative Stabins
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to personnel of the school
3 system; amending ss. 230.23 and 230.33, F.S.,
4 relating to powers and duties of district
5 school boards and school superintendents;
6 providing that salary schedules may be based
7 upon certification by the National Board for
8 Professional Teaching Standards; providing
9 requirements for counting years of service;
10 amending s. 231.173, F.S.; providing for
11 certification and specialization coverage for
12 out-of-state teachers certified by the National
13 Board for Professional Teaching Standards;
14 creating s. 231.176, F.S., relating to National
15 Board for Professional Teaching Standards
16 certification; providing for payment of
17 certification fees and approved leave from
18 funds appropriated to the Department of
19 Education; providing eligibility requirements
20 for receipt of funding; providing school
21 district requirements; amending s. 231.24,
22 F.S.; authorizing renewal of certificates
23 through national certification; creating s.
24 231.315, F.S.; providing for the establishment
25 of model peer assistance and review programs;
26 providing minimum standards; providing for
27 technical assistance and allocations; amending
28 s. 231.600, F.S., relating to the School
29 Community Professional Development Act;
30 including additional professional development
31 activities; requiring an assessment of
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 expenditures for professional development;
2 amending s. 236.0811, F.S.; providing
3 requirements for educational training for
4 support staff; providing for additional days of
5 inservice training; providing an effective
6 date.
7
8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
9
10 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (5) of section
11 230.23, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
12 230.23 Powers and duties of school board.--The school
13 board, acting as a board, shall exercise all powers and
14 perform all duties listed below:
15 (5) PERSONNEL.--Designate positions to be filled,
16 prescribe qualifications for those positions, and provide for
17 the appointment, compensation, promotion, suspension, and
18 dismissal of employees as follows, subject to the requirements
19 of chapter 231:
20 (c) Compensation and salary schedules.--Adopt a salary
21 schedule or salary schedules to be used as a basis for paying
22 all school employees, such schedules to be arranged, insofar
23 as practicable, so as to furnish incentive for improvement in
24 training and for continued and efficient service and fix and
25 authorize the compensation of school employees on the basis of
26 such schedules. A district school board, in determining the
27 salary schedule for instructional personnel, must base a
28 portion of each employee's compensation on performance
29 demonstrated under s. 231.29 and must consider the prior
30 teaching experience of a person who has been designated state
31 teacher of the year by any state in the United States. A
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 district school board, in determining the salary schedules for
2 instructional personnel and instructional specialists, may
3 base a portion of an employee's compensation on certification
4 by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and
5 consider such certification as a demonstration of performance
6 under s. 231.29. A district school board's salary schedules
7 for instructional personnel and instructional specialists must
8 count a year of service in any Florida public school as equal
9 to a year of service in its school district. A year of service
10 shall be as defined in s. 228.041(20). In developing the
11 salary schedule, the school board shall seek input from
12 parents, teachers, and representatives of the business
13 community.
14 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section
15 230.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
16 230.33 Duties and responsibilities of
17 superintendent.--The superintendent shall exercise all powers
18 and perform all duties listed below and elsewhere in the law;
19 provided, that in so doing he or she shall advise and counsel
20 with the school board. The superintendent shall perform all
21 tasks necessary to make sound recommendations, nominations,
22 proposals, and reports required by law to be acted upon by the
23 school board. All such recommendations, nominations,
24 proposals, and reports by the superintendent shall be either
25 recorded in the minutes or shall be made in writing, noted in
26 the minutes, and filed in the public records of the board. It
27 shall be presumed that, in the absence of the record required
28 in this paragraph, the recommendations, nominations, and
29 proposals required of the superintendent were not contrary to
30 the action taken by the school board in such matters.
31
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 (7) PERSONNEL.--Be responsible, as required herein,
2 for directing the work of the personnel, subject to the
3 requirements of chapter 231, and in addition the
4 superintendent shall have the following duties:
5 (b) Compensation and salary schedules.--Prepare and
6 recommend to the school board for adoption a salary schedule
7 or salary schedules. The superintendent must recommend a
8 salary schedule for instructional personnel which bases a
9 portion of each employee's compensation on performance
10 demonstrated under s. 231.29. In developing the recommended
11 salary schedules for instructional personnel and instructional
12 specialists, the superintendent may base a portion of an
13 employee's compensation on certification by the National Board
14 for Professional Teaching Standards and consider such
15 certification as a demonstration of performance under s.
16 231.29. The recommended salary schedules for instructional
17 personnel and instructional specialists must count a year of
18 service in any Florida public school as equal to a year of
19 service in that school district. A year of service shall be as
20 defined in s. 228.041(20). In developing the recommended
21 salary schedule, the superintendent shall include input from
22 parents, teachers, and representatives of the business
23 community.
24 Section 3. Section 231.173, Florida Statutes, is
25 amended to read:
26 231.173 Successful experienced out-of-state teachers
27 and administrators.--
28 (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of ss. 231.02,
29 231.15, and 231.17, and 231.172 or any other provision of law
30 or rule to the contrary, a successful, experienced, and
31 certified out-of-state teacher or administrator employed in a
4
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 public school or nonpublic school in this state may qualify
2 for a professional certificate if the applicant:
3 (a)(1) Completes the application process, including
4 the filing of a complete set of fingerprints as required by s.
5 231.02.
6 (b)(2) Holds a valid standard certificate issued by
7 the state where the applicant most recently taught, which
8 standard certificate is equivalent to the professional
9 certificate issued by this state and for which specialization
10 coverage is based on a level of training comparable to that
11 required in this state for the applicant's area of assignment.
12 (c)(3) Documents 5 years of appropriate successful
13 full-time teaching or administrative experience, including 2
14 continuous years during the 5-year period immediately
15 preceding the date of application for certification.
16 (d)(4) Submits a request for issuance of the
17 professional certificate from the superintendent of the
18 employing school district or governing authority of the
19 employing developmental research school, state-supported
20 school, or nonpublic school within the first 120 days of
21 assignment with validation of awareness of the standards of
22 professional practice.
23 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 231.15 or s.
24 231.17 or any other provision of law or rule to the contrary,
25 an out-of-state teacher shall qualify for a professional
26 certificate if the teacher meets the requirements of paragraph
27 (1)(a) and is certified by the National Board for Professional
28 Teaching Standards.
29 (3)(5) The certificate issued in accordance with these
30 provisions shall reflect specialization coverages as follows:
31
5
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 (a) Teachers.--A teacher appointed to an academic
2 assignment shall be eligible for the academic coverage in an
3 area in which the teacher is assigned or in the area of the
4 teacher's certification by the National Board for Professional
5 Teaching Standards.
6 (b) Principals.--An individual appointed as an intern
7 or interim principal of a K-12 school shall be eligible for
8 the educational leadership coverage.
9 (c) Administrators of adult education.--An individual
10 appointed as an administrator of an adult education program
11 shall be eligible for the administration of adult education
12 coverage.
13 (d) Directors of career education.--An individual
14 appointed as a director of career education shall be eligible
15 for the director of career education coverage.
16 Section 4. Section 231.176, Florida Statutes, is
17 created to read:
18 231.176 National Board for Professional Teaching
19 Standards certification.--
20 (1) Of the funds appropriated by the Legislature to
21 the Department of Education for fiscal year 1998-1999,
22 $2,500,000 may be used during fiscal year 1998-1999 to pay the
23 certification fee for up to 1,000 full-time teachers employed
24 by district school boards or public schools within this state
25 to participate in the National Board for Professional Teaching
26 Standards (NBPTS) certification program and to pay for up to 3
27 days of approved leave for each selected participant in the
28 NBPTS certification program during the 1998-1999 school year.
29 Each school district shall receive a pro rata share of the
30 available funds based on its pro rata share of the state's
31 unweighted FTE. This program shall continue each year at the
6
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 level funded by the Legislature in that year's General
2 Appropriations Act.
3 (2) A teacher is eligible to participate who:
4 (a) Has completed 3 years of teaching in the public
5 schools of this state before applying for NBPTS certification.
6 (b) Has not previously received state funds for
7 participating in any certification area in the NBPTS
8 certification program.
9 (c) Has been selected to participate by the school or
10 the school district and has the approval of his or her
11 supervisors before taking paid leave to participate in the
12 NBPTS certification program.
13 (d) Agrees to teach in a public school of this state
14 for at least 1 year after completing the certification
15 program.
16 (3) A teacher for whom the state pays the
17 certification fee and who does not complete the certification
18 program or does not teach in a public school of this state for
19 a least 1 year after completing the certification program must
20 repay the amount of the certification fee to the state.
21 However, a teacher who completes the certification program but
22 fails to be awarded NBPTS certification is not required to
23 repay the amount of the certification fee if the teacher meets
24 the 1-year teaching requirement. Repayment is not required of
25 a teacher who does not complete the certification program or
26 fails to fulfill the teaching requirement because of the
27 teacher's death or disability or because of other extenuating
28 circumstances as determined by the State Board of Education.
29 (4) A school district that applies for funding under
30 subsection (1) must provide staff development activities,
31 including reflective writing, collaborative teaching, and
7
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 video production, and must provide 3 days of school release
2 time to a teacher for the portfolio development application
3 process for the NBPTS certification program. Two or more
4 school districts may combine their resources to provide staff
5 development activities.
6 (5) School districts are encouraged to award salary
7 stipends for participants who achieve certification from the
8 NBPTS and to include opportunities for enhanced professional
9 roles for nationally certified teachers, including, but not
10 limited to, staff development trainers and peer mentors in a
11 peer assistance and review program.
12 Section 5. Subsection (2) and paragraph (b) of
13 subsection (3) of section 231.24, Florida Statutes, are
14 amended to read:
15 231.24 Process for renewal of professional
16 certificates.--
17 (2) All professional certificates, except a
18 nonrenewable professional certificate, shall be renewable for
19 successive periods not to exceed 5 years after the date of
20 submission of documentation of completion of the requirements
21 for renewal provided in subsection (3). Only one renewal may
22 be granted during each 5-year validity period of a
23 professional certificate, except that a teacher with national
24 certification from the National Board for Professional
25 Teaching Standards is deemed to meet state renewal
26 requirements for the life of the teacher's national
27 certificate. However, if the renewal application form is not
28 received by the department or by the employing school district
29 before the expiration of the professional certificate, the
30 application form, application fee, and a late fee must be
31 submitted before July 1 of the year following expiration of
8
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 the certificate in order to renew the professional
2 certificate. The state board shall adopt rules to allow a
3 1-year extension of the validity period of a professional
4 certificate in the event of serious illness, injury, or other
5 extraordinary extenuating circumstances of the applicant. The
6 department shall grant such 1-year extension upon written
7 request by the applicant or by the superintendent of the local
8 school district or the governing authority of a developmental
9 research school, state-supported school, or nonpublic school
10 that employs the applicant.
11 (3) For the renewal of a professional certificate, the
12 following requirements must be met:
13 (b) In lieu of college course credit or inservice
14 points, the applicant may renew a specialization area by
15 passage of a state board approved subject area test, by
16 completion of the national certification from the National
17 Board for Professional Teaching Standards in that
18 specialization area, or by completion of a department approved
19 summer work program in a business or industry directly related
20 to an area of specialization listed on the certificate. The
21 state board shall adopt rules providing for the approval
22 procedure.
23 Section 6. Section 231.315, Florida Statutes, is
24 created to read:
25 231.315 Peer assistance and review.--
26 (1) The Legislature, the education community, and the
27 public expect high standards of professional practice from
28 school district and school administrators and instructional
29 staff. To promote high professional standards, school
30 districts, administrators, and teachers must develop a system
31 of shared accountability. Peer assistance and review is a
9
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 process in which highly skilled teachers serve in a consulting
2 role with their peers to improve the quality of classroom
3 instruction. Peer assistance and review allows administrators
4 and teachers to share the responsibility of mentoring,
5 training, assisting, and reviewing the professional standards
6 and practices of teachers.
7 (2) Peer assistance and review programs must meet the
8 following minimum standards:
9 (a) Program provisions must be developed through the
10 collective bargaining agreement between the teachers'
11 association and the school district.
12 (b) A joint teacher and school district governing body
13 must be created with responsibility to review recommendations
14 of the consulting peer teachers.
15 (c) Consulting peer teachers must be recognized by
16 their peers as highly skilled practitioners and must be
17 selected by their peers.
18 (d) Consulting peer teachers must be properly
19 compensated and trained.
20 (e) Consulting peer teachers must provide assistance
21 and review for teachers with the same area of expertise as the
22 consulting peer teacher.
23 (f) Consulting peer teachers must not be considered
24 administrative personnel and must retain status within the
25 employees' collective bargaining unit.
26 (3) For fiscal years 1998-1999 and 1999-2000, up to
27 six school districts may be selected to establish model peer
28 assistance and review programs. At least one district selected
29 must have less than 6,000 students and at least one district
30 selected must have more than 100,000 students. Districts that
31 wish to apply for selection must submit an application to the
10
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 Department of Education by September 1, 1998, which includes
2 the agreement between the teachers' association and the school
3 district. By October 1, 1998, the department shall select the
4 participating districts based on the quality of their
5 applications.
6 (4) The department shall provide technical assistance
7 to selected school districts to establish model peer
8 assistance and review programs.
9 (5) The school districts selected to establish model
10 peer assistance and review programs shall receive an
11 allocation from the department as established in the General
12 Appropriations Act.
13 (6) During the 1999-2000 fiscal year, the department
14 shall assess the results of the selected model peer assistance
15 and review programs and shall submit a report to the Governor,
16 the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
17 Representatives by March 1, 2000. The report must include the
18 department's recommendation as to the continuation or
19 expansion of peer assistance and review programs.
20 Section 7. Subsections (3) and (5) and paragraph (b)
21 of subsection (4) of section 231.600, Florida Statutes, are
22 amended to read:
23 231.600 School Community Professional Development
24 Act.--
25 (3) The activities designed to implement this section
26 must:
27 (a) Identify and meet state standards for student
28 learning and increase the success of educators in guiding
29 student learning and development so as to implement state and
30 local educational initiatives.;
31
11
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 (b) Assist the school community in developing in
2 school children the dispositions that will motivate them to be
3 active learners.; and
4 (c) Provide continuous support, rather than temporary
5 intervention, for improving the performance of teachers and
6 others who assist children in their learning.
7 (d) Convey to the school community the adopted best
8 practices for effective teaching.
9 (e) Examine elements of successful schools and the
10 roles of teachers, administrators, parents, and other school
11 community members in those schools.
12 (f) Encourage teachers to design personal professional
13 development plans to improve professional practice and
14 increase student performance.
15 (4) The Department of Education, school districts,
16 schools, and public colleges and universities share the
17 responsibilities described in this section. These
18 responsibilities include the following:
19 (b) Each district school board shall consult with
20 teachers and representatives of college and university
21 faculty, community agencies, and other interested citizen
22 groups to establish policy and procedures to guide the
23 operation of the district professional development program.
24 The professional development system must:
25 1. Require that schools identify student needs that
26 can be met by improved professional performance, and assist
27 schools in making these identifications.;
28 2. Provide training and other professional development
29 appropriate to accomplish district-level and school-level
30 improvement goals and standards.; and
31
12
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 3. Provide training and other professional development
2 at the school level appropriate to the needs of the students
3 of the school and consistent with the school improvement plan.
4 4.3. Provide for systematic consultation with regional
5 and state personnel designated to provide technical assistance
6 and evaluation of local professional development programs.
7 (5) Each district school board shall provide funding
8 for the system as required by s. 236.081, and shall direct
9 expenditures from other funding sources to strengthen the
10 system and make it uniform and coherent. A school district
11 may coordinate its professional development program with that
12 of another district, with an educational consortium, or with a
13 college or university, especially in preparing and educating
14 personnel. School districts, in coordination with school
15 personnel and the school community, shall develop an ongoing
16 assessment of the effectiveness of current expenditures for
17 professional development with an emphasis on increasing
18 student performance and improving professional performance.
19 Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
20 236.0811, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (3) is
21 added to said section, to read:
22 236.0811 Educational training.--
23 (2)(a)1. Pursuant to rules of the Commissioner of
24 Education, each school board shall develop and annually
25 approve a master plan for inservice educational training. The
26 plan shall include all inservice programs for all district
27 employees from all fund sources and shall be updated annually
28 by September 1 using criteria and procedures for continued
29 approval as specified by rule of the commissioner.
30 Verification that the plan meets all requirements of this
31 section and s. 231.600, where applicable, must be submitted
13
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 annually to the commissioner by October 1. The plan must be
2 based on an assessment of the inservice educational training
3 needs of the district conducted by a committee that includes
4 parents, classroom teachers, and other educational personnel.
5 This assessment must identify districtwide inservice needs and
6 the inservice training needs of local schools. The plan must
7 include, at a minimum, the inservice activities that are
8 necessary for implementation of the schools' improvement plans
9 during the current fiscal year. The plan must include, but is
10 not limited to, components addressing: competencies in the
11 identification, assessment, and prescription of instruction
12 for exceptional students; competencies in the identification,
13 assessment, and prescription of instruction for child abuse
14 and neglect prevention and for substance and alcohol abuse
15 prevention; and competencies in instruction for multicultural
16 sensitivity in the classroom. In addition, the plan must
17 include a component to provide regular training to classroom
18 teachers on advances in the field of normal child development
19 and the disorders of development. The plan must also include
20 components that may be used to satisfy the certification
21 requirements applicable to teachers of students with limited
22 proficiency in English and components that may be used for the
23 renewal of a certificate in each of the following areas: a
24 study of the middle grades, understanding the student in the
25 middle grades, organizing interdisciplinary instruction in the
26 middle grades, developing critical thinking and creative
27 thinking in students in the middle grades, counseling
28 functions of the teacher in the middle grades, developing
29 creative learning materials for the middle grades, and
30 planning and evaluating programs in the middle grades. The
31
14
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 plan must include inservice activities for all district
2 employees from all fund sources.
3 2. Classroom teachers and guidance counselors shall be
4 required to participate in the inservice training for child
5 abuse and neglect prevention, for alcohol and substance abuse
6 prevention education, and for multicultural sensitivity
7 education, which may include negotiation and conflict
8 resolution training.
9 3. Training for support staff shall emphasize the
10 working partnership of support staff with instructional staff
11 and methods for increasing effectiveness in the instructional
12 process.
13 (3) In addition to the 196 days of service for
14 10-month personnel, 2 additional days of inservice training
15 shall be provided to all instructional personnel and
16 instructional specialists. These 2 days of training should
17 emphasize professional development at the school level that is
18 appropriate to the needs of the students of the school and
19 consistent with the school improvement plan. Compensation for
20 these days shall be based on the employee's daily rate of pay
21 and shall be contingent upon funding included in the annual
22 General Appropriations Act.
23 Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1 of the
24 year in which enacted.
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
15
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3699
535-178A-98
1 *****************************************
2 HOUSE SUMMARY
3
Provides that district school board salary schedules for
4 instructional personnel and instructional specialists may
be based upon certification by the National Board for
5 Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). Provides
requirements for counting years of service. Provides for
6 certification and specialization coverage for
out-of-state teachers certified by the NBPTS. Provides
7 for payment of NBPTS certification fees and approved
leave from funds appropriated to the Department of
8 Education if certain eligibility requirements are met.
Authorizes renewal of professional certificates through
9 national certification. Provides for the establishment of
school district model peer assistance and review
10 programs. Provides additional school district
professional development activities and requires an
11 assessment of certain expenditures. Provides requirements
for educational training for support staff. Provides for
12 additional days of inservice training for certain school
personnel.
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
16